President Donald Trump is facing down his last two years in office, and soon he will need to contend with a Democratic Congress.
On Nov. 3, the president's party suffered blistering losses in the midterm elections in what is seen as a rebuke of Trump's agenda.
Despite his pleas to his base to pretend he was on the ballot, he responded to the midterm
results by saying the party lost because he wasn't on the ballot.He mused earlier in his second term that he would like to run for president again, but he is barred from doing so by the Constitution. Therefore, Trump will be a lame duck president soon, as the nation turns to selecting candidates for the 2028 presidential elections.
Here is what to know about Trump's political future after the midterms.
Can Trump run in 2028?
Under the Constitution as it stands, Trump cannot serve a third term in office. It is explicitly barred by the 22nd Amendment.
Changes to the Constitution are extremely difficult and rare, as they require a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate. States can also spur an amendment, but it requires two-thirds of the state legislatures to call a constitutional convention and three-fourths to ratify it.
Is Trump still the president after the midterm elections?
Yes. On the federal level, only the House of Representatives and about a third of the Senate were elected on Tuesday. Midterm refers to the middle of the president's term.
Though his party's members lost a lot of their elections, Trump is still in office. Over the next two years, he will be sometimes called a "lame duck" president. Lame duck refers to any elected official or legislative body in the time between an election and the new officials taking office. For example, Congress is also in a lame duck session until January when the new House members and senators are sworn in.
Trump cannot run for office again, and there is no other opportunity for voters to weigh in on federal office holders (unless there is a special election) until 2028. Hence, the beginning of his lame duck tenure.
Talk of 2028 and who will run for president has already started, and several politicians have already signaled their interest in making a bid.
When will Trump be out of office?
President Donald Trump's term is slated to end when the new president is inaugurated in January 2029. The next presidential election will be held Nov. 7, 2028.
Is Trump a Republican or Democrat?
Trump is a Republican.
Only one president has served more than two terms
America's founding father and first president, President George Washington, voluntarily stepped down after two terms, creating an unofficial tradition for future presidents to follow suit.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first and only president to break that tradition. The country was still recovering from the Great Depression, and at the dawn of World War II, he was re-elected to his third term. After leading the country through the global war, he was elected again in 1944 but died the following year.
A movement in the House of Representatives to officially limit the presidency terms, now ratified as the 22nd Amendment, began two years after Roosevelt's death.
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. She is reporting from Maine for the 2026 midterm elections. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can Trump run again in 2028? Why he will be called a 'lame duck' president
